Life with Koga
by Suni Daughter of Moro
Summary: Think life as Koga's girl would be simple? Let me snap you back to reality here! Koga x Alicia(author)
1. Proposal

Life with Koga

By Alicia Maxwell

For those of you who don't know, I'll start my story off a few years ago and explain how it got like this…

I was eighteen back then, and for a human during the feudal era, I was way past the age where I should have settled down.  However, since my life involved a lot of travel between that time and mine, which is the last 1990's, and since I have a demonic soul, I wasn't a good choice for a mortal man's wife.  That's when I went to Koga.

I wasn't too keen on the idea for two reasons.  First, no matter how I said it to myself, a woman proposing to a man sounded really stupid.  Second, in my previous life, I had been Koga's step-cousin.  That made us nearly related and that turned me off the idea even more than the stupidity of proposing to a man did.  Despite my arguments against the idea, I still went through with it.

I called Koga out to the cliffs one day.  He seemed a bit surprised when I told him to come alone but he agreed to meet me there.  I had the whole script of what I wanted to say, written out, in my head.  Then, Koga came hiking up the cliff, calling to me and I forgot everything….

We sat down on the edge and began to talk about random things- rain, the construction of "Mother's" shrine (for he too called my mother Moro, "mother"), insolence of the lower ranks, how the elimination of the Northern Tribe got absolutely no reaction from the Southern Tribe… then finally, he asked me.

"Alicia, why did you call me up here?"

"Well Koga… I… uh… kinda wanted to… pitch an idea here and see if it flies," I answered.

"How are you going to _pitch an idea if an idea can't even be __touched?  And who are you pitching it _to_?" he asked dim-wittedly._

"I _mean, I'm going to _propose_ an idea to you and _see_ if you agree with it, _idiot_!"_

"Oh…" Koga responded, "So what is it?"

"Well, I was wondering what you thought about joining our tribes together," I stretched back on the grass.

"Joining the Eastern and Western Tribes huh?  Going after a huge jewel shard like our northern brothers did?" he asked.  "Let me remind you that they, and a quarter of my men, ended up dead because of that incident."

"No.  I have no plans of war on my mind," I responded sharply.

"Then what?  You guys want to learn to hunt humans for food?" Koga blinked.

"_No, we most certainly do _not_.  I'm not placing myself on the main menu just because I'm stuck in this human form," I snapped bitterly.  "I just happen to think a union between our tribes would prove worthwhile."_

"Who would step down?" Koga asked.  "If we're going to unite, our tribes would share one leader.  There are two of us."

"I don't expect you to step down," I assured him, "but I don't intend to step down myself."

"We can't be united if our tribes are lead by two different alphas," he insisted.

"As long as the alphas are one alpha female and one alpha male, we can have two leaders of our unified tribe," I replied.

"I don't get it," Koga stated honestly.

"I'm suggesting we unify the tribes and rule together as mates, you dolt!" I shouted.

"Okay, talk about freaky," Koga said.  "Didn't you once kick me in the gut and order me to 'drop dead' just because I kissed you?"

"Well… yeah but...," I scratched my nose.  "Oh come on Koga!  I'm desperate!"

"'Desperate'!?  What am I, your last-ditch effort at having a family!?" Koga yelled.

"Actually, that'd be Hakkaku.  You're my first effort and if you turn me down I'll go to Ginta and then, like I just said, my last-ditch effort is Hakkaku," I replied.

"I'm your first choice?" Koga blinked.  "Forgive me for asking but… why on earth would you make me your first choice!?"

"Do I really have to explain, Steel Fang?" I asked.  "You're the only demon I've respected all along, since the day I was born."

"What about your father?  You're half goddess, half demon aren't you?"

"I never knew my father.  Mother speaks bitterly of him and he left her before I was even born so obviously, I didn't respect him at all."

"So I'm the only one huh?" Koga looked over at me.  "Never expected you to say that after wailing on me all the time.  I still have the bruises from when you threw me against the wall three months ago."

"Sorry," I laugh nervously.  "So what do you think?"

"I think," he smiled, "we should go announce this to the guys."


	2. Announcement

Life with Koga

Chapter 2

By Alicia Maxwell

Koga and I got back to his tribe's den around dinner time.  Automatically, he sought out Hakkaku and Ginta to tell them of the good news, seeing as they are his best friends.  We found Hakkaku and Ginta by the river, eating fish.

"Hey!" Koga dropped a hand down on both men's shoulders and they both jumped.  "What did I tell you two about how things work around here?"

"'The leader eats his fill'," Hakkaku sighed.

"'And then the others eat'," Ginta finished the statement solemnly.

"You guys can chill, you know," I giggled slightly.  "Don't you guys know Koga well enough to know when he's joking?"

"Huh?" Ginta looked up.  He seemed surprised to see me but then I realized what really surprised him.  "How long have you been here?"

"All day.  Why?" I asked.

"Hear that Hakkaku?  She's been here all day Koga still isn't in two pieces!  I think she's set a new personal record!"

"Yeah, she sure did.  The previous record was four hours twenty-three minutes and five seconds before she got so frustrated with him that she threw him at the wall and shattered his entire rib cage."

"My god… did I really throw you that hard Koga?" I asked worriedly.

"Ah don't worry about it.  It's all good now," he smirked, tossing an arm around my shoulder.

"Who are you and what have you done with Koga and Alicia?" Hakkaku and Ginta demanded in unison.

"Oh come on," Koga said, "It's still us.  We're just getting along better."

"And… why is that?" Hakkaku asked.

"Koga-chan and I are going to join the Eastern Tribe and the Western Tribe by becoming mates," I smiled.  Hakkaku and Ginta fell back, laughing hysterically.

"Oh come on now," Ginta silenced his laughter, "what's the real reason?"

"She just told you ya blockheads!" Koga yelled.

"But she was just kidding," Hakkaku insisted.  Then he saw the angry look on Koga's face and added, "Right?"

"No!  Not right!" Koga shouted.  "Come on Alicia.  Let's go.  It's almost dinner time," Koga lead me away by the hand, back to the den.

That night at dinner, Koga kept me close by his side.  It seemed peculiar to everyone, considering he usually kept a safe distance between the two of us and soon whispers filled the den.  That's when Koga got to his feet, dragging me up with him, and made his announcement.

"Okay guys, I've got an announcement to make!  So shut up!" Koga barked.  "Now listen up!  From now on, Alicia here is my woman!  Lay a hand on her and you die!  And it won't be quick!  Anyway, this means big changes around here!  First of all, our brothers and sisters from the western caves will be joining us soon.  Second, our tribe will now be under the rule of both Alicia and myself.  If you can't take orders from a woman then get out of here while you still can!"

"Third," I spoke up, "tomorrow night, we feast!"

A cheer echoed through the den.  Then Koga pulled me aside.

"What are you doing?!" he whispered.  "You can't promise that tomorrow's hunt will go any better than today's!"

"I'm not promising that," I smiled.  "I know a farmer down in the village who's trying to sell three hundred cattle and he's too stupid to know that the price he's asking for all of them would be more suitable for the price of one."

"And where do you propose we get the money?  We're demons!  Our culture involves bartering and no cash!"

"You were saying?" I held up my wallet to his nose.

"You are the smartest woman in the world," he replied.


	3. The Beginning

Life with Koga

Chapter 3

By Alicia Maxwell

"Aren't you going to sleep?" Koga asked

"I could ask you the same Koga.  I didn't ask you to stay up with me," I replied.

"Heh. You're nervous aren't you?" he played with my hair.

"Me? Nervous? Never!" I laughed softly.

"It's okay, you know.  There's nothing wrong with being nervous about telling them," he said.  "I'd be nervous if I had to tell my actual brothers, who are gods, that not only am I getting married, but I also told an entire wolf tribe about it before telling them."

"Do you think Heroki and Akira will be mad at me?" I bit my lip.

"It's going to be alright.  Don't worry.  They'll understand."

"I suppose you're right," I sat up.  "Come on.  Let's go to bed."

"No, let's stay out here.  Lay your head back down on my lap and we'll sleep out here under the stars," he smiled.

"Sounds like fun," I laid my head down on his lap again.  We talked for a little while longer, and then we fell asleep.

The next day went as planned.  All morning long we received congratulations from the other wolves and in the afternoon Hakkaku and Ginta came forward with their condolences.  As you can imagine, Koga popped them both for doing such a thing and then the four of us laughed.  After that, I headed into the village alone and bought the cattle from the farmer.  He seemed a bit hesitant when I said I was from the wolf demon tribe but his opinion of me softened once I gave him double the price he had asked.  That being done, I drove the cattle up the mountainside and made it back to the den by dinner time.  The feast went about how I had expected it to and, at the end, Hakkaku and Ginta got up and gave a toast.  One that I'll never forget….

"To Alicia and Koga," Ginta raised his glass.

"May they not kill each other before the honeymoon!" Hakkaku finished.

"Oh come on Koga-kun.  Lighten up," I nudged him when he became the only person in the den to not be laughing.

"They think we're gonna kill each other before the honeymoon!" Koga objected.

"First of all, they're just kidding.  Second, like we're really going on a honeymoon," I smiled.

"You don't want to go anywhere?" Koga blinked.

"No," I shook my head.  "Plus, it's not like we could anyway.  We're the tribe leaders.  Anywhere we go, they go."

"Good point," Koga sighed.

Early the next morning the two of us set out for the west.  We left Hakkaku and Ginta in charge and hurried toward the west, bringing the remaining hundred cattle along with us.  No offense to the Eastern Tribe intended, but my tribe was made up of much better hunters, so the hundred remaining cattle were more than enough for a feast.  We arrived around noon at the den of my tribe.  I then introduced Koga to a few of my closest comrades and left him behind with them.  After that, I sought out Heroki and Akira up at Moro Megami Jinja.

"Oniichan!  Niichan!  Where are you guys!?" I called out once I reached the temple.

"Sister?" Heroki stepped out of the temple.  "Sister!  How have you been?"

"Niichan!  Oh it's so good to see you again!  I've got great news!" I smiled.

"What is it Alicia?"

"I've agreed to become Koga's mate and join our tribes," I answered.  "We might actually have a bloodline successor now!"

"That's great!" Heroki smirked.

"But are you doing it for love or for the tribe?" Akira appeared.

"I'm doing this for myself," I replied harshly.  "I may give up my life for the tribe one day but I'll never give up my chance at finding true love."

"That's good…," Akira averted his gaze.  "I smell cattle.  Is this your doing?"

"Yep!  Tonight we feast!" I grinned madly.

"Yay!" Heroki cheered.

The feast went well and Heroki even took on a humanoid form just so he could hold up a glass and propose a toast.  It was short sweet and to the point- "To the happy new couple!"  After the feast, Koga and I left the tribal den to go to my personal den.  Halfway there we were stopped by my sister San.

"Let me take a look at you," San said, an angry look on her face.  She took Koga's face in her hands and turned it from side to side.  "You don't look too bad.  Your name translates to 'Steel Fang' does it not?  Do you live up to the standard set by your name?"

"Who are you to be talking, human?" Koga demanded.

SLAP!

"I'm a WOLF you hear me!?" San shouted after laying a bright red handprint across Koga's cheek.  "Now tell me!  Do you have what it takes to protect my sister!?"

"Sister?" Koga blinked and looked back at me.  "She mean you?"

"San _is Moro's daughter as am I," I answered._

"Don't worry 'bout her kiddo," he ruffled San's hair.  "She's in good hands now."  With that, Koga started to lead me away.

"Really?  Word in the den is that you lost to a lousy half-breed mutt with a big flashy sword," San smirked, causing Koga to stop.  "I can't approve of a man that weak becoming my sister's mate."

"San, do you realize who you sound like now?" I asked.  "You sound like Mother when she tried to force you away from Ashitaka!"

"You can't blame me," she said.  "You're my only sister.  I can't keep you from doing what you will though.  Be good to her, Koga," San retreated to the main den.

"What was that all about?" Koga blinked.

"She worries.  She thinks a man should be stronger than his woman so that he can protect her when she can't protect herself.  But I'm a half-goddess.  No man can ever be stronger than me," I said.  "Come on.  Let's go."

I led Koga off to my den where we curled up together and went to bed.  How sweet I anticipated life with Koga would be!  And how wrong I was!


	4. Trouble In Paradise

Life with Koga

Chapter 4

By Alicia Maxwell

"Hey Alicia. Wake up," Koga nudged me.

"What is it Koga?" I sat up sleepily.

"Alicia, breathe deep.  Do you smell anything… peculiar?"

"I smell a dog.  So what?"

"Are there usually dogs in this area?"

"YOU WOKE ME UP AT TWO IN THE MORNING TO ASK ME IF DOGS WERE USUALLY IN THE AREA!?" I yelled.

"Ow," Koga rubbed his ears.  "Quiet down Alicia."

"Oh I'm sorry Koga.  I didn't mean to be so loud.  Are you alright?" I asked.

"Heh.  Yeah I'm fine," he took his hands away from his ears.

"I'm really sorry Koga.  Come here," I said, arms outstretched.

"You aren't gonna shout again are ya?" he asked nervously.

"No of course not, baby," I smiled.  Koga came closer and I pulled him into a tight embrace.  "Are you sure you're okay, honey?"

"Yeah," Koga smiled.  "But I could use a kiss or two."

"How about four?" I asked, placing a kiss on each cheek, a kiss on his forehead and a final kiss on his lips.

"That's great.  Thanks."

"Do ye think the mangy wolf is around these parts, me Lord?  Rin was attacked in the east after all," Jakken said.

"It's the scent of an eastern wolf I smell.  I shall cut off his head, the despicable fellow," Sesshomaru replied.  Much to his dismay, his second statement caused Rin to go into a fit of ear-shattering screams.  "That's enough, Rin.  Silence yourself."

"Yes, My Lord!"

"Good morning sleepy head," I smiled brushing Koga's bangs out of his face as he awoke.  He rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up, yawning and stretching.  "You slept for an awfully long time.  I was able to hunt down breakfast and cook it already.  Come eat," I insisted.

"Okay…," he yawned again and rose to his feet sluggishly.  "Smells like deer."

"It is, though I'm much more partial to hunting oxen," I replied.

"I thought oxen weren't found in the wild," he blinked.

"Well," I said handing him a plate of food, "I didn't say I always hunted wild creatures.  My tribe constantly attacks human resources- meaning livestock, crops, and transportation.  This slowly forces them out of our territory.  Believe me- the time it takes is worth the lives it saves."

"Ah so you hunt oxen when targeting human livestock.  Not a bad idea," he began eating.

"Koga?" I lowered my voice to a whisper.

"Yeah?"

"The dog you smelled last night is closer.  Do you recognize the smell?" I asked, hoping the answer was no.

"Sorta," he whiffed the air, "smells a lot like Mutt-face but it's not him."

"_That, dear Koga," I said, "is the smell of Sesshomaru, Inuyasha's older half-brother.  He is an evil man and he is much stronger than Inuyasha.  I know you hate to use it but I suggest you unsheathe your sword."  Koga did as told but then did something rather stupid- he headed for the den entrance.  Screams of a young girl were heard, and Koga jumped.  All of a sudden, Sesshomaru was up in his face._

"This is _way too close for comfort," Koga muttered._

"Die," Sesshomaru said calmly, laying tears in the flesh on Koga's left arm.

"Koga!" I called out.  "Sesshomaru, you have no right to be here!  Get out now or prepare to face the consequences!" I readied my sword.

"Consequences?  That's the whole reason I'm here, you pathetic wench," Sesshomaru said.  "This _cub ordered the slaughter of villages upon villages of humans."_

"Since when do you care about humans!?" I demanded before I noticed the little human girl behind him.  "Get out now.  I don't want to expose a child that young to what I'm prepared to do to you," I growled.

"I will not go.  This girl was once dead.  All I want is a life for a life."

"Fine then, if you won't leave then I have no choice," I shrugged.  Before he could realize that I had moved, I had the tip of my sword at his jugular.  "Leave now and never come back.  Revenge for something like this isn't worth dying over, Destruction Man."

"I told you not to call me that again," he said.  I pressed my sword in enough for him to feel that I had but made sure I didn't puncture the skin.  "Very well.  Jakken, Rin, we leave."  With that, they went to leave, and I did not stop them.  Instead, kneeling down beside him, I turned my attention to Koga's wound.

"Poison no doubt," I mumbled.  "His nails naturally carry poison on them and thus, when they puncture the skin, they leave traces of the poison in the bloodstream.  Luckily, I know an herbal remedy that cures this kind of poison and I have it right here.  So all that remains is cleaning and bandaging the wound."  I stood and stepped over to the corner of the den where I had my herbal remedies and bandages.

"You moved fast enough to surprise him… and I couldn't even follow _his _movements," Koga muttered, a hint of anger and jealousy in his voice.

"I was born with unbelievable speed, Koga.  There's no reason to be jealous," I said, returning with the remedy and bandages.  I held out the plant that would cure the poison, "This is gonna taste horrible but I need you to eat it.  It'll cure you."  Begrudgingly, he ate it.  "Now sit up and let me see your arm."

"Fine," he sat up and held out his arm.  I softly took hold of it and began to clean his wound with my tongue, stopping occasionally to spit out the tainted blood I'd lapped up.  After I finished cleaning the wound, I began to bandage it carefully.

"It's going to be alright now, Koga," I smiled, tying up the ends of the bandage.

"Thanks," he muttered, taking his arm back.

It was later on, that afternoon, when I first argued with Koga.  He had called me, and I had replied that I would be with him in a second, since I was busy.  Feeling he shouldn't have to wait, Koga came over and dragged me away from my work.

"What are you doing!?" I demanded.

"You're my woman," he growled.  "I call; you come!"

"Sorry to disappoint you Koga, but I won't be your little slave!  I do what I want, when I want!  I'm not your possession; I'm your _mate_!  There's a difference!  Learn it!" I yelled.

"You fail to see the way life works!  The man is superior to the woman!" he barked, violently forcing his lips to mine.

"I said I'm _not your possession!" I forced him back and slapped him.  "Your view of life is twisted!  A man is only superior to a woman when she allows him to be!  Well I won't allow it!  If either of us has control over the other, it's going to be me!"_

"You!?  Don't make me laugh!  I'll bite my own tongue off before I follow your every whimsical command!"

"Well you better bite your own tongue off now because you'll follow any order I give you!" I shouted.

The conversation ended with the two of us nose-to-nose, growling at each other.  Then we both turned and left.

You must understand, when I had said, "Because you'll follow any order I give you," I had no intention of actually giving him orders.  I didn't wish to be a slave nor did I wish to have one.  I simply wanted what I had expected from the relationship- equality.  Of course, I wasn't sure there even was a relationship after that horrible fight….


	5. Enter Atyame

Life with Koga

Chapter 5

By Alicia Maxwell

Days passed and Koga and I barely spoke.  Any words we had for one another were typically bitter ones and it didn't seem like things would get better any time soon.  He was angry because of numerous things, but I could tell it first started when he saw, first-hand, that I was a better fighter even though he had two jewel shards and I had none.  I knew it was for the best if I just let him be for a while- let him sort things out for himself- so I did.  However, it soon came to pass that I became bitter myself, but I had different reasons….

One day, while I was out hunting, I came across a wolf from Koga's tribe.  She was average height, red-haired with her hair pulled back in two ponytails on either side of her head, and she had green eyes and white fur.  She told me her name was Atyame and she had come to speak with Koga.

"I'll show you the way to the den," I said.  "And by the way, I'm Alicia."

"I know.  I couldn't forget your name," she muttered.  I chose to ignore this remark and continue leading her toward the den.

"Koga!  One of your tribe is here to see you!" I called into the den.

"It's your tribe now too, ya know!" he shouted back.  He sounded pleasant, like maybe he was starting to get over his anger.  "Show 'em in!"

"Koga?" Atyame beckoned, as I led her into the den.

"Atyame!?" Koga jumped.  "Atyame, what are you doing here!?"

"How could you do this to me, Koga!?" Atyame demanded.

"Koga, what's she talking about?" I asked.

"Nothing, nothing," Koga said nervously as he came up to me and dragged me aside.  "Atyame isn't quite… right in the head, if you know what I mean," he whispered.

"I HEARD THAT!" Atyame shouted.

"Koga!  I want the truth!  What in the name of seven hells is this girl talking about!?" I demanded.

"Well… I… uh… I…," he stuttered.

"You didn't even tell her anything about me!?  God Koga!  You really _are slime!" Atyame yelled._

"Shut up, okay!?  Things have changed, Atyame!  We aren't cubs anymore!" Koga shouted.

"Tell me what's going on right now or I swear I'll never speak to you again, Koga!" I demanded.

"Well… I… uh… I…," he stuttered again.

"How about I tell you?" Atyame said.

"No!  Atyame, I'll tell it!" Koga replied.  "She'll just make me look like an evil twisted bastard if she tells it," he muttered.

"I HEARD THAT TOO!" Atyame shouted.

"Anyway, Atyame here's an… well… an 'ex-girlfriend'.  Back when we were cubs, I promised Atyame I'd be her mate when we grew up.  Of course, as you can see, things didn't turn out like I promised."

"You jerk!" I slapped him.  "How many times have you done this, hm?  How many times did you promise your heart to a girl and then take it away?  How many times!?"

"Twice, but Kagome didn't _want my heart anyway so it's more like once," Koga replied._

"Hmph! Now that she knows about that, I can safely say I'm content," Atyame said, turning back and heading out, back to the eastern caves.

"So," I sat down.  "I'm not angry anymore.  I want to get back to what's important.  Are you willing to give up being angry?"

"Huh?" he blinked.  "What did you say?"

"I'm not mad about Atyame.  I understand.  I want to get back to what's important- our happiness together.  Are you ready to give up being angry?"

"Sure," Koga smiled.

That was the end of our troubles for a while.


	6. More Problems, Kids, and Laughs!

Life with Koga

Chapter 6

By Alicia Maxwell

Koga and I had troubles almost daily for the next couple years.  At first, our main problem was joining the tribes.  They refused to join after the western tribe reportedly called the eastern tribe a "group of stupid, brain-dead country hicks" and the eastern tribe was claimed to have called the westerners "foreign mutts who we wouldn't welcome into our region, much less our dens."  Koga and I stayed up night after night trying to fix this problem.  Sometimes, the two of us got so fed up with it that we would simultaneously get up, walk over to the den wall, and bang our heads against it.  Then the mere fact that we had both thought to do such a stupid thing at the same time would make us laugh and we'd forget the troubles and go to bed. 

The problem of joining the tribes eventually ended but that wasn't the end of our problems.  Almost daily, we'd get six or seven complaints from the other wolves.  For example, one day, we were asked to solve the following problems: "One of those flea-bitten eastern boys touched me!" "Some lousy western bitch threw me over the waterfall just cause I touched her!" "The eastern boys smell like garbage!  Get them to bathe once in a while!" "The western girls keep complaining that we stink!" "One of the western girls stole my guy!" "Hakkaku and Ginta are sleeping on guard duty again!"

As you can see, we were quite busy every day with multiple problems.  Thus, we didn't have much time together to solve problems between ourselves.  Actually, we didn't have much time together to even create problems between ourselves.  However, we eventually got used to the daily complaints and began to solve them quicker, which left more time for us to be together.  A couple seasons passed and I had our first litter.

Three cubs- two boys and a girl.  The oldest one was a boy.  He had white fur, gold eyes, and hair that was navy-colored in front and a light silvery blue in the back.  This led some of the wolves to joke that it was actually Ginta's child, seeing as it did look like Ginta.  The middle child was the girl, Moro, named for my late mother, the highly exalted wolf goddess.  She had brown fur, gold eyes, and red hair with a tiny blond highlight in the front.  The youngest was what everyone had expected a child of Koga's to look like.  He had blue eyes, and black hair, and he looked exactly like his father, except his fur, mysteriously, was solid black.  We named him after my brother, Heroki.

I puzzled the logic of the third child repeatedly.  Black fur wasn't in the genetic code of the eastern wolves or the western wolves.  Black fur was only found in the northern wolf pack.  It didn't make sense.  How did a child of the east and the west end up with a trait only found in the north?  Finding no answer after months of pondering it, I gave up on thinking about it and put all my focus into balancing my new job as a mother with my job as an alpha female.

Normally, all cubs of the pack would be handed over to a den mother, whose sole job as a member of the pack was to watch over the cubs.  However, my human nature wouldn't let me hand my kids over to someone else.  Of course, Koga had issues with that…

"You're a leader of the tribe!  She's a den mother!  You have lots of things to do!  She has nothing to do but sit around and watch kids!" Koga yelled. "How could you possibly even _think that you'd be able to raise three kids and lead the tribe at the same time!?"_

"I don't know how I'll do it," I said calmly, "but I'm going to raise my own kids.  Don't worry; I'll keep the tribe's best interest in mind."

"That's not the issue here!  The issue is that you're attempting to do the impossible and you don't give a damn that it _is impossible!"_

"I'm going to find a way, Koga!  I'm going to find a way to do both things at once!" I shouted.  "My only problem is that, when women in my time have important jobs and kids to take care of, her husband is usually a bit more supportive than you're being now!"

"How do you expect me to be supportive of something that can't be done!?"

"Even if it can't be done, you should still support my decision!" I yelled.  "When you love someone, you support them, no matter what!"

Koga tried desperately to come up with something to combat my statement with.  I could see it in his eyes that he was in deep thought.  He really was completely opposed to my idea!  So much so, that he would argue against me even after my last argument!

"There are two options open to you now Koga," I said.  "The first is to say that you'll support my decision and let me mother my own children.  The second, is to say no to my request, in which case I'll leave the tribe and go back to my own time, where I'll raise the kids as a single mother.  It's your choice, Steel Fang."

"I'll never see you or the kids again if I say no, will I?" he asked.

"Not unless you can find a way through Bone Eater's Well," I answered.

"It's a crazy idea, you know.  But… I really couldn't stand to lose my kids much less my woman," Koga paced about.  "So I guess my only option is to support you."  With that, he gave me a smile.

"Oh Koga-kun!  Thank you!" I jumped up and hugged him.

"Down, girl!  You just had your first litter a couple hours ago.  You wanna be carrying another litter around this soon?" he chuckled.

"Go ahead!  Laugh it up!" I snapped.  "Maybe one day you'll have your guts ripped out.  _Then_ you'll understand the pain I went through today."

"I'm sorry!  I'm sorry!" Koga said.  "God!  You sure have gotten touchy since you were reincarnated as a human, Suni!"

"I was always this touchy, Koga," I smiled.  "I just used to be afraid that you wouldn't hang out with me if you knew that."

"Really?  Ah come on.  You really think I wouldn't hang with you because of that?  I'm amazed _you hung out with _me_!"_

"It's true…  The typical goddess doesn't associate with demons unless she intends to slay them.  But… I'm not just a goddess… I'm a demon too," I said.  "I'm a demon-goddess."

"Correction- an insane, deadly, slightly homicidal, slightly pyromaniac demon-goddess who earned the nickname 'Hydro Bomber' at an eighth grade graduation party," Koga laughed.

"You're so mean!" I said before bursting into hysterics myself.


	7. 25 Years Later More Kids!

Life with Koga

Chapter 7

By Alicia Maxwell

It was a lovely day in May.  I smiled as I watched the cherry blossoms fall from the trees.  This place was so beautiful and it seemed so new to me.  It was hard to believe I had been there twenty-five years…

My body had stopped aging by the time I hit twenty.  I assumed the demonic energy inside of me was growing and taking over my entirety and that's why I stopped aging.  I was okay with that.  I wasn't like Inuyasha- I was strong enough to keep the demonic aura under control.  All this transformation meant to me was that I could spend a few centuries living with Koga instead of a few decades, and I wanted that.

Twenty-five years together… human couples were usually too old to still have children by then.  We were different though.  During those twenty-five years, we had fourteen litters.  Each litter averaged about three cubs.  It was hard to come up with, as well as remember, that many names.  I won't bore you with descriptions and names.  I'll just leave it off at, 'I loved each and every one of them dearly.'

Koga didn't know it yet, but I was carrying our fifteenth litter.  I knew he'd be happy about it but I didn't tell him because I wanted to have a doctor from my time examine me and get the basic information.  Ever since I had told him in advance what the first litter consisted of, he insisted that I tell him what each and every litter would be like.  That's why I stopped telling him about the children until I had that information.

This litter was going to be big- six cubs- two girls, four boys.  I was sure that alone would make Koga happy but I wanted to surprise him with it.  That's why I made a special dinner that night.

I cooked plenty of meat and next to no vegetables- that's the way Koga like it.  He hated vegetables.  Most wolves did.  I made everything special and I set it out special too.  I made sure everything was perfect.

After dinner, I smiled at Koga and gave him a gentle peck on the cheek.  "Did you like dinner?" I asked.

"Yeah.  Thanks Alicia," Koga smiled back.  "So what's the occasion?"

"Well, I have something to tell you, dear," I kissed his cheek again.

"Okay, what is it this time?"

"I'm going to be having another litter soon.  Six cubs- two girls, four boys.  Isn't that great?" I hugged him.

"Great? Alicia, how do you expect to deliver all those kids?" 

"Don't worry… I've had litters of four before easy.  What difference will two more make?"

"Alicia, I'm starting to get worried.  Couldn't all this breeding hurt your body?"

"Well, I suppose there's a possibility but I really don't mind.  If it comes down to injury versus not giving life to a child, I'm choosing the child," I started to clean the mess from dinner.  Koga stopped me, held me in his arms, and he kissed me.

"I think forty eight kids is enough for one lifetime 'Licia," he said.  "No more breeding."

"Fine, I'll do as you say Koga," I nodded slightly.

"Good girl.  Now go get some sleep.  I'll take care of this mess," he smiled.

"I… think I'll just sit down.  I don't want to go to sleep without you," I shook my head slightly.

"Okay Alicia," he nodded.

I was disappointed with Koga's reaction to the news.  I expected him to be happy- there were going to be six more wolves added to his bloodline within a couple months.  More children meant more chances of our bloodline continuing for many, many centuries to come.  He should have been happy but he wasn't.  He was concerned about my welfare.  He was worried about my health.  The news actually made him sad.

"There, finished," Koga said.  "You okay?" he blinked.

"I'm fine Koga-kun… It's just… I'm sorry if I made you upset," I frowned.

"Upset?  Alicia, I'm not upset!  I think the news is great!"

"You sure didn't sound excited," I mumbled.

"It's just," Koga sat down beside me and tossed an arm over my shoulder, "I worry about you, you know?  No matter how you look at it, you're still a mortal.  You could be injured… you could die."

"Is that what worries you, Steel Fang?  Are you really that concerned about my mortality?"

"Well yeah," Koga admitted.  "Child birth is the main cause of the death of a female wolf demon, after all."

"Really?  I heard the main cause of death was insanity caused by overprotective mates," I laughed.

"Heh heh heh… very funny!" Koga bopped me in the head.

"Ow!" I laughed.  "That hurt!"


	8. REM APPEARS!

Life with Koga

Chapter 8

By Alicia Maxwell

"Koga, Koga-kun, I think I'm going to go on a trip soon," I told him.

"A trip?" he yawned.  "Where do you intend to go?"

"I think I'm going to go see Sesshomaru and Rem," I said.

"Not that dog and his wench again…" Koga grumbled.

"Rem is my friend!  No matter how much you hate Sesshomaru!" I yelled.

"Well I'm telling ya I don't trust her or that bastard so you can't go!" Koga fumed.

"Say whatever you want!  I'M GOING!" I shouted.

"Oh great… another fight… well, I'm turning back right now.  How about you?" Hakkaku, who was only a few steps away from joining us, paused and turned toward Ginta.

"I learned after that last incident to keep my nose out of their business," Ginta said, fingering the scar on his cheek. "Let's go."

"Where do you two think you're going?" Koga asked.  His two comrades froze.  "Feh.  Alicia, what do you say to letting them decide it?"

"Fine," I huffed.  "I'll give my side of the story first.  Koga isn't letting me visit my good friend because she lives with a half-wit bastard.  I'm done."

"This 'half-wit bastard' is after my life and he wouldn't mind having Alicia's instead," Koga argued.

"So?  Who do you two side with?" we asked together.

"Koga," the two said plainly.

"Nothing against your friend Alicia but we need to keep our leaders safe and this journey of yours sounds dangerous," Ginta explained.

"Exactly," Hakkaku agreed.

"Whatever…," I mumbled and stormed off.

About twenty minutes passed before I was already disobeying Koga's orders.  I started off on my journey to visit Rem and Sesshomaru.  I had little respect for Sesshomaru myself, so I could understand Koga's objection, but Rem was different.  She wasn't much stronger than Sesshomaru but her determination speed and accuracy made her twice the fighter he was.  Unfortunately, she also had more of a temper than him.  Rem was a good person though.  Strange, he was a noble dog yet I saw him as scum, and she was a mongrel and yet I saw her as ten times the person he could ever hope to be.

Rem was closely tied to Sesshomaru when I first met her- the two were best friends- and this put me on guard.  However, I realized I had nothing to fear from Rem quite quickly.  She was just a sweet person who found Sesshomaru interesting and thus followed him around like a stalker.  Now that I'm recounting it, it does sound rather _odd_….

Rem and I existed as close allies for many years despite the animosity between Sesshomaru and Koga.  She was a low-class mutt but a great ally and trusted friend.  Unfortunately, her social standing showed in her eating habits, dress, and hygiene.  Her table manners were worse than those of a starved wolf.  She wore baggy old clothes and her dark brown hair was always heading in all possible directions at once.  I'd say it's fair to say she was the opposite of Sesshomaru who was always clean, tidy, well-groomed, and well-dressed.  That's why it came as such a surprise.

Three years after we started to grow apart slightly, I received a message from Rem.  In the letter, two names I had never heard before appeared- Kaijimaru[1] and Yume.  From what I could gather from the poor grammar and numerous misspellings, she and Sesshomaru had wed and she had given birth to two pups- that's where the names Kaijimaru and Yume came in.

By the time I had received this message, I was about to begin carrying my fifteenth litter, placing the message approximately six months previous to my venture to go see Rem.  I wrote back but I had wanted to see for myself what no mind could imagine all too well- Rem as a mother.  She was never very careful and was usually more reckless than any child you placed in her care.  The real issue about Rem being a mother, though, was that she wasn't very effeminate at all, which made both her being a mother and Sesshomaru being attracted to her scary.  All the same, I knew what I read.

It was about three days after I started my expedition when I came upon their home.  It was a simple little house in the mountains, which is more than I had expected.  I stepped up to the door and knocked.

"Ohayo gozaimass! Sesshomaru? Rem?" I called out.  Suddenly the door swung open and there was Rin, thirty years old.

"Oh, ohayo Alicia-san.  I suppose you're here to see Okaasan?" Rin asked.  It was simple to see why Sesshomaru insisted on keeping Rin out of human sights- she'd grown into a lovely woman and he probably thought her beauty would be wasted on any human male.  "Okaasan!"

"May I come in, Rin?" I asked.

"Oh sure," Rin lead me into the house.  "Okaasan!  You can sit down over there, Alicia-san."

"Thanks," I moved toward the nearest chair and sat down.

"Kaasan!" Rin yelled up the stairs.

"She isn't here Rin!" Sesshomaru called back down.

"Well where is she, Tousan?  Alicia-san is here!" 

"Where else?  The lake."

"Down there again?" Rin sighed.  "My apologies, Alicia-san.  You know Kaasan- once she decides to go swimming it's hours before she comes back.  So, how have you been?"

"Fine, just fine.  I haven't seen you in a while."

"I'm… not allowed to go out much.  Tousan forces the scholastics on me and he doesn't want me associating with humans so…"

"Do you think he understands the difference between you and a demon, Rin?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, demons can be centuries old and still have children.  Humans are different.  You only have about ten more years before you'll lose your ability to have children.  Do you think your father realizes that?"

"He doesn't need to realize that because it isn't true!" Rin giggled.  "Didn't Kaasan tell you about what Tousan did with a jewel shard he found?"

"Huh?" I blinked.

"Tousan gave me a shard of the Shikon no Tama and I used it to become a demon," Rin smiled, fingering her now slightly-pointed ear.

"Wow… I didn't know a shard could do that much," I said.

"We're back!" Rem burst in the front door, carrying two little dog demon pups.  "What did we miss?"

  


* * *

[1] Yes I do realize that name translates, more or less, to "Fire man."  So the name makes him sound like a pyromaniac?  So what?


	9. Koga's Angry and Alicia's Stressed

Life with Koga

Chapter 9

By Alicia Maxwell

"So Rem… you really are a mother now huh?" I looked off at the sunset.  I've gotta tell you- it scares me to think about that- you as a mother."

"What's so funny?" Rem demanded when she noticed I was giggling.

"You… your entire life you've been trying to escape becoming a woman… then you get married and have kids," I laughed.

"Hey, you aren't one to talk.  You wanted to escape too," Rem protested.

"I didn't oppose it as much as you.  Besides, I'm happy with my compensation," I smiled, "Forty-two kids and a loving husband- what more could a girl want?  Are you happy Rem?"

"Of course.  Why wouldn't I be?" Rem watched her feet as she swung them up and down.

"Yume looks too much like her dad and Kaijimaru looks like neither of you that's why.  You have nobody who looks like you," I said.

"True but Kaijimaru takes after my father.  Besides, you already had about twenty kids before you had a single one that looked like you didn't you?"

"Yes.  Boy… it's hard to believe I've been here this long….  It feels like a mere instant has passed since the day I had that talk with Koga," I sighed.  "And yet… I'd be satisfied if the world ended this very instant."

"You're pathetic… sappy and pathetic," Rem said sternly, and then she chuckled, "why'd I ever hang out with you?"

"Maybe you felt bad for me," I joked.  "I _am human after all."_

"Not anymore," Rem sniffed.  "You smell of demon now… and your face hasn't changed a bit.  You're a demon again."

"I've been waiting to hear that for longer than I can remember."

"I can imagine."

"Okay _girls!  I hate to break up the reunion but it's time my woman comes home!" Koga came out onto the porch.  "Come Alicia!"_

"I'm not a pet!  I don't come when called!" I argued.

"Leave her alone Koga," Rem spoke up.  "She can do as she pleases."

"I draw the line at disobeying my orders by walking fifty miles alone while six months pregnant to go visit some twisted freaks!"

"Koga! Hold your tongue! Speak too much and even I might consider cutting it out," I growled.

"Alicia?" Koga blinked, a tad shocked.

"As I have said before," I spoke defiantly, "Rem is my friend, no matter what you think of her or Sesshomaru.  I defend her honor as I would my own."

Koga stood awestruck for a second and then he twitched slightly.  Next thing I knew, his arms were around me in a tight embrace and his chin was laying on my shoulder.  "Alicia… I was worried about you.  You just disappeared into the woods.  Come back home now, please?"

I looked at Koga and then at Rem.  Rem nodded softly and I spoke.  "Rem, I promise to come visit again sometime soon.  Come visit me sometime okay?"

"Sure thing.  Goodbye," Rem said as Koga and I walked off the porch and headed back home.  It was a long journey and it took us over three hours to get back to the den.  By then, the moon was well past risen and its light made the waterfall glow.

"It's so pretty," I murmured.  "Hey Koga… why don't we go for a swim?"

"A swim?  You're joking right?  It's like twenty degrees out!"

"You don't know Fahrenheit temperature measurements so don't pretend that you do," I said.  "Besides, the air temperature is at least forty.  The water is probably warmer too," I headed off for the spring I typically bathed in.

"Hey wait up!" Koga rushed to catch up.

When we reached the spring, I discarded all my clothes with the exception of my bathing suit.  Koga discarded most of his clothes as well, leaving only a pair of shorts on.  Then we got into the nice warm water together and enjoyed a nice long swim, after which we dressed and headed back toward the den.

The next day, during the early afternoon, Koga and I were walking around to all the guard posts to make sure nobody slacked off.  That's when we spotted our second oldest son Heroki coming toward us in a panic.  He barely acknowledged my presence before tearing his father off to the side and whispering to him.  Koga nodded occasionally as he listened to our son.  Before Heroki passed me again with no acknowledgement of my presence, I heard Koga tell him, "I'll talk to your mother about it."

"What did he want?" I asked.

"Let me put it this way- how do you feel about being a grandparent in the next three to four years?" Koga asked.

"Great… just great… I only get to spend twenty minutes with Rem, I'm sick to my stomach, I'm carrying six children, and _now_ my second eldest son has a girlfriend!"

"Heroki says he's not the only one.  Kuro's got himself a girlfriend too."

"No, no, no!  I can't stand all this at once!"


	10. Troublesome Girlfriends of Alicia's Sons

Life with Koga

Chapter 10

By Alicia Maxwell

"Oh come on Alicia.  It isn't that bad," Koga attempted to cheer me up when he noticed I was still upset even after I'd slept on it.  "So our boys have started dating.  So what?  Kuro's twenty and Heroki's twenty-five.  You must realize they're growing up."

"They're still kids!" I insisted.  "Besides, what if they're going out with girls who aren't nice?"

"Alicia, do you really think Kuro and Heroki could be that stupid?" Koga asked.

"I don't know… Their dad seems a little dimwitted.  Maybe they inherited their father's brain as well as his looks," I replied.

"That was a cheap shot!" Koga yelled.

"All the same, I'm not happy about this," I sighed.

"Oh come on.  I'm sure the girls are ni--."

"Sh! Look!" I pointed through the trees to a clearing below.  Down by the edge I could see Kuro Heroki and two girls.  The one girl I could clearly identify as Tsurai, Ginta and Ichi's eldest daughter.  She was almost twenty, which would place her around the human age of twelve.  She had dark blue hair that would extend halfway down her back if it weren't tied up in a ponytail, though some of her hair did hang down in front of her ears on both sides, and red-brown eyes.  Tsurai had bangs that were always going every which way, though they weren't as bad as Rem's.  Beside Tsurai was Akai Yuki, the eldest daughter of Hakkaku and Taka.  She was a bit older, twenty-five years and six months of age, if human she'd be about thirteen and a half, and she was quite lovely for being Hakkaku's child.  Her fur was black, her eyes were ice blue, and her hair was black.

"Ah looks like we might have blood-ties to Hakkaku and Ginta both someday," Koga said.

"Why does that scare me?" I asked.

"Because you're afraid our grandchildren will take after their grandfathers and be as dumb as rocks?"

"I think so," I nodded.  "Isn't it a little soon to be thinking about grandchildren though?  They won't even be capable of having children for at least another ten to fifteen years."

"Yeah so?  That doesn't mean I can't think about it," Koga replied.

"You really like to get ahead of yourself don't ya?" I narrowed my eyes on him.

"Why not?  It's better than being behind myself," he laughed.

"What do you think they're doing down there?" I asked.  Almost as if on cue, we suddenly saw a flash and an explosion in the air.

"I can't be entirely sure but… I think they're setting off fireworks…," Koga blinked at the shiny red explosion above.

"Oh great…," I groaned.  Then I sniffed the air, "and is that _burning sugar I smell!?"_

"I don't know but is there something wrong with burning sugar?" Koga asked.

"Hell yeah!  It's highly flammable!  You could torch up a quarter of this mountainside with a gram of sugar and a match!"

"Oh my…"

"Tas'kete Kami-sama… I'm thinking evil thoughts again."

"Evil thoughts?"

"Thoughts like, 'If I die now, would that be okay?'" I answered.

"You are not dying on me!" Koga yelled.

"Oh hey mom!  Hey dad!" Kuro waved.  "What's up!?"

"Are you kids burning sugar down there?" I demanded.

"Yeah, why?" Kuro asked.

"Stop it! Sugar is dangerous to burn!" I yelled.

"Really?  We didn't know that," Heroki said.

"I did," Tsurai mumbled.

"Tsurai!  What do you think your father would do if he knew you purposely lit a highly-flammable substance on fire!?"

"Nothing!  My dad doesn't even understand what 'highly-flammable substance' means!" she laughed.

"That's true," I said, "but I'm sure your mother does!"

Tsurai nervously fell silent.  Her mother Ichi was a smart and strong woman who did not hesitate to punish Tsurai harshly for any misdeeds she committed.  Tsurai new this and she grew nervous in fear of what her punishment may be.

"I'm glad you see things my way," I smiled.  "If you put any and all fires out down there, I might actually approve of you going out with Kuro.  Well?"

Tsurai stood there looking at me for a while, analyzing what my approval meant.  I assumed she reached the correct conclusion because she quickly put out the fires.

"You aren't as bad as I thought you were," I told her.

"Same here," she replied with a mischievous smirk on her face.

"Grr…," I growled.

"Calm down, Alicia," Koga insisted.  "Calm down!"


	11. Stereotypes About Males and Females and ...

Life with Koga

Chapter 11

By Alicia Maxwell

"Alicia, I was just thinking," Koga said.

"Yeah?" I turned over in bed to face him.

"Maybe you oughta go away for a while," he continued.  "Not that I'm trying to get rid of you but don't you think you'd be a lot better off right now if you didn't have to deal with all this stress?"

"Where would I go?" I asked him.

"Why not back to your own time?  Or maybe you could go see Rem again?" Koga suggested.

"You read one of my magazines didn't you?" I asked.  "You read the one that had the article on the relation between stress and miscarriages."

"Yeah and I agree with it.  Stress probably does contribute to birth defects miscarriages and all that stuff.  Why else would the alpha families typically be so small when others are typically huge?"

"And I thought you were too dim to pick up on that," I giggled.

"Hey!" Koga snapped.

"Sorry Koga-kun," I laughed.

"So… will you go?" he asked.

"Sorry dear," I planted a kiss on his cheek.  "I'm staying right here for the time being.  End of discussion."

"That's the one thing I can't stand about you women- you never give in when you know we men are right."

"Not necessarily.  It depends on the woman and what the situation is," I replied.  "Goodnight Koga-kun."

"Goodnight," he answered.

"Are you sure you don't want to go away again, Alicia?" Koga asked me the next morning.

"Your persistence is more irritating than the song 'I Know a Song that Gets on Everybody's Nerves'," I muttered.

"Does that mean you're ready to give in now?" Koga looked at me with a slight smirk, which caused the tip of his one fang to stick out.

"No, I am not.  And I will not.  I'm not going away;" I glared, "Got it?"

"You don't scare me," Koga stated flatly.

"You want me to scare you?  Fine! Let's see if you find having your tail pulled out scary!" I reached down and grabbed his tail.

"Ow!  Alright, alright!  I give, I give!  Just LET GO!!!"

"That's one thing about you men that I can't stand- your weak spots are always so obvious."

"Well let' if you have the same 'obvious weakness'!" Koga grabbed my tail and pulled it.  Little did he know I had built up an unbelievable tolerance for pain.

"Ya-awn," I said.  Bitter that I would disgrace him so, Koga squeezed my tail and pulled harder.  "I have no obvious weaknesses, Koga, so just give it up."

"That's the good thing about you," he said, "I always see something you don't."

"What do you mean?"

"You have one obvious weakness- More accurately forty-nine," Koga smiled.

"Forty-nine!?  I don't even have that many hidden weaknesses!" I replied.

"Of course you do.  Forty-nine obvious weaknesses- your family."

"That's different," I insisted.  "No one's ever gonna lay a finger on my kids… or my husband."

"You sure about that?" Koga pointed down the hill.  "Looks like someone's got two of your kids down there."

"What!?" I shrieked, following his finger down the path.  Sure enough, two certain someones had two of my sons.  Down the hill, in the wooded area, Tsurai was making out with Kuro and Akai Yuki was making out with Heroki.  "Koga?"

"Yes?"

"Is your invitation to go on a vacation still open?  Cause I'd like to retract my previous answer and take that vacation now."

"Not a chance."

"Kuso…."


	12. A Midnight Arguement

Life with Koga

Chapter 12

By Alicia Maxwell

"You know…," Koga sat up in bed.

"What is it now?" I groaned.  It was the tenth time that night that I had been an inch away from sleep and he had started a conversation.

"I don't like that man of hers, but if you wanted Rem over here for a visit, I'd be fine with that."

"Really?"

"Yeah.  Why not?  She seems like an okay woman," Koga said.

"She's not nearly as innocent as she looks Koga," I sighed, smirking.  It was a common misconception that Rem seemed harmless.

"Even so, if you've been that close with her for all these years she can't be all that bad," he insisted.

"Takes all I got to bring her down and keep her in line and I've been pretty weary lately, mind you."

"She really that bad?" he asked.

"Is the sun really that bright?" I retorted.  "Is snow really that cold?  Is fire really that searing?  Is lightning really that shocking?  Is Hakkaku really that stupid?"

"Hey, don't pick on my friends!"

"Come now Koga.  You must admit Hakkaku is stupid.  I _did_ once have to advise him to _breathe_."

"He thought there was poisonous gas in the air!" Koga objected.

"First of all, what reason did he have to think so?  Second of all, if there was, the first reaction should have been to filter the air through a tightly-woven cloth not to suffocate himself," I argued bitterly.  "Admit it - the man is a good man but he's a dumb-ass."

"And Rem's any better?"

"Rem's a psychotic freak not a dumb-ass."

"Why are you always so harsh on Hakkaku but you say nothing about Ginta?  He's just as stupid."

"Ginta is too damn cute to make fun of.  Plus, at least he never had to be advised to breathe."

"Shut up about that already!"

"So, can I seriously have Rem come stay with us for a bit?" I changed the subject.

"I'll send a messenger for her in the morning," Koga nodded.  "Right now, get some sleep."

"Sure, if you stop talking…"


	13. how about The Letter and The Arrangement...

Life with Koga

Chapter 13

By Alicia Maxwell

"Take this message to Lady Rem, Ginta," Koga handed Ginta a scroll.

"Um… but Koga… I don't know what Lady Rem looks like or where I should look," Ginta objected.

"I don't care! I told you to take it to her! You figure out how to find her!" Koga barked.

"You shouldn't be so mean to Ginta-chan, Koga. I can tell you're stressed out but that doesn't excuse you lashing out at him like that," I said softly. I then turned to Ginta. "Ginta-chan, this is a photograph of Lady Rem. A photograph is basically a very detailed portrait," I handed him a picture of Rem. I then laid out a map and order Ginta to sit down with me. "Now, here is where we are. You need to travel across our mountains toward the Western Dens and then head north. Here's where you'll find Lady Rem. Take the map with you and don't get lost."

"You're to escort Lady Rem here once you've given her the letter to read," Koga told him.

"Yes Koga. I'll be back in six days," Ginta assured. Then he began running at top speed.

"Be sure to get proper amounts of sleep while on your journey Ginta!" I called out as I waved goodbye.

"Don't you sound like an experienced worry-wart - 'get proper amounts of sleep!'" he mocked.

"And don't you sound like a proper authority figure - 'You are to escort Lady Rem here'," I teased in return.

"Come," Koga said, "We're meeting with Taka and Hakkaku."

"_Meeting_ with them? Why?" I asked.

"Arranging a marriage," Koga smirked.

"Arranging a marriage!?! You must be kidding me!" I yelled.

"Oh yeah and when Ginta gets back, we're going to be arranging a marriage with him and Ichi."

"But, Koga, our sons are too young to marry. They haven't even gone through puberty yet."

"Yeah well it's best to get these things out of the way as far in advance as possible. Come on, let's get going. Hakkaku and Taka expected us to be there ten minutes ago," he began to walk off.

"Wait up."

"Hey guys," Koga smiled as he waved to Hakkaku and Taka. "Sorry we're late."

"I'm going to guess _you_ picked the meeting spot today," I said, looking at where we were. "This is the same cliff where I first suggested that we become mates."

"Yeah well… thing is… I figured since this place was where I started of the best days of my life, it would be a good place to arrange for what I hope will be the best days of Heroki's life," Koga said and then he kissed me.

"You're so sweet Koga," I smirked.

"Yo! Lovebirds! Hurry up and get your asses up here!" Hakkaku shouted down from the top of the cliff.

"How dare you speak to your leaders like that!" I tried to sound serious but I began laughing in the middle of the sentence.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know you're trying to maintain a dictatorial image, Alicia. Now hurry up and get up here so we can arrange this marriage," Taka insisted.

I laughed. Taka always had a plan for lightening the mood, even in the grimmest of times. She never spoke out of line either. Well, the way she spoke to us would have been considered out of line by most authorities, but we just wanted everyone to speak to us as if we were just ordinary. So when I say she never spoke out of line, I mean she never said anything to intentionally hurt someone's feelings. Taka had good looks to complement her affable nature and good sense of humor. She was a slender, tall, white-furred wolf. She had gleaming green eyes and long brown hair with blond highlights. On top of her good looks, sense of humor, and personality, Taka was also fairly intelligent. She might not have been a genius but she certainly had enough brains to make up for her mate's lack thereof.

"Come on Alicia," Koga held out his hand for mine. "We don't want to keep them waiting, do we?"

"Right," I grabbed hold of his hand and allowed him to take me up the mountainside.


	14. REM REAPPEARS!

Life with Koga

Chapter 14

By Alicia Maxwell

Several days later, Ginta returned with a very confused Rem in tow. I soon discovered that Rem had never learned to read for herself and had always relied on Sesshomaru to read for her. Apparently, Sesshomaru was not around to read to her and Ginta quite clearly lacked the intellect to decipher it on his own so they just came, neither knowing what was going on.

"Alicia, what the hell is this? You send this guy to kidnap me or somethin'? I thought we were past those days," Rem rolled her eyes at me.

"Didn't you get the letter?" I asked curiously. Koga flashed a glare at Ginta.

"Does the word illiterate mean anything to you? Because that's what Sesshomaru always says about me…" she murmured.

"You mean you can't read for yourself?" I stared, open-mouthed.

"Neither can this guy apparently," Rem pointed over her shoulder at Ginta.

"Sorry," I forced an awkward smile.

"S'alright. So, what's this I hear about another batch of cubs in the oven?" Rem laughed softly.

"Six of them this time, Rem."

"Six? Damn, aren't you satisfied yet?"

"Ask _him_ that," I said monotonously as I pointed to Koga.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Koga demanded.

"Hey, I just like to play with kids," I answered, "You're the one who made sure that I'd have so many of my own that I'd never play with someone else's kids."

"Are you saying--?"

"You know what I'm saying," I interrupted insistently. "So, Rem, how are you?"

"Same old, same old. It's been a while," she remarked.

"Certainly has been. No, wait, it's only been a month, you liar!" I glared.

"I know. I know. Just can't help joking with you," Rem chuckled.

"You know that's not fair," I whined. "After all this time… I thought you would have gotten to know me better."

"What do you mean?" she cocked an eyebrow, intrigued.

"Well, I always get revenge for injustice wrought upon myself or my house. And by now, I also hoped you would have realized my pattern of developing three prong retaliation tactics."

"Ah, yes, you really overdo it."

"Indeed I do. So anyway wanna go get something to eat and then go swimming?"

"ALRIGHT!"

A/N: Ok, yeah this chapter is short but I wrote it while suffering a hyper-crash after being… "hopped up" (for lack of a better term) on pure lemon juice. So I don't really have patience or concentration to write with.


	15. Revenge on Rem with an Unexpected Twist

Life with Koga

Chapter 15

By Alicia Maxwell

Rem and I made it to the swimming pond a bit before sundown. A musing smile crossed my lips as the first part of my three-part revenge came to mind. "If Rem is going swimming, she's going to have to take off her clothes," I thought to myself silently. It was an obvious truth but thinking about it had given me a scathingly brilliant idea (A/N: I do not own The Trouble with Angels or the movie's most common phrase - "scathingly brilliant idea").

"Go ahead in, Rem. I'll join you in a minute," I insisted.

"Okay!" Rem grinned and began stripping herself.

I had to put a great deal of effort into maintaining an impassive face as I devised my plan. I was prepared to strike at Rem's Achilles heel - her sex. Rem wasn't much of a woman and she even tried to make people believe she was a man at times. It worked fairly well when she was younger but she had… _developed_ and so it had become harder for her to hide her femininity. The cruelest blow I could deal was clearly to make her verify for herself that she was a woman.

"How?" you may ask.

After Rem had gotten into the water I quickly rushed over and picked up every last scrap of clothing. "Hey Rem! Ready for part one of my revenge?" I called teasingly, waving the clothes high above my head.

"GIVE ME THOSE!!!" Rem demanded.

"All's fair in war!" I called back, leaving out the 'love and' part of the quote for obvious reasons, as I began running down the hillside with her clothes. I knew there were two possible outcomes. The first and more probable was that she would chase me until she realized that she had run completely naked past about a dozen people at which point she would turn bright red in humiliation and I would return the clothes. The other possibility was that she would simply wait me out at the pond. If that happened, I was prepared to turn it into two phases of my revenge plan. In such a case, phase one would have been to make her wait it out there all night and then phase two would have been to suggest that the men go bathe in the pond. Either possibility was fine with me.

I stopped after running about a mile and looked back. She didn't appear to be coming. It looked like I had to go with operation two; however, I needed an excuse for why Rem had not returned to the dens with me. I sat down on a nearby rock and began to think. I eventually decided that I would go back and say that Rem had decided to camp out for the night. Knowing her, it was a highly probable possibility.

I executed my plan exactly. I went back with her clothes tucked away in the stomach area of my clothes (no one would notice if a woman pregnant with sextuplets had a shirt and a pair of pants tucked away there!) and told anyone who asked that Rem was camping out. The next morning, I went to Ginta, Hakkaku, and a few other men and suggested that they go bathe. They took my suggestion to heart and headed off for the pond. I followed at a safe distance.

Once Rem had been fully humiliated by being found sleeping naked by the pond, Ginta made a move that I decided was worthy of being the third part of my revenge. Since she was asleep and half in the water, Ginta had assumed Rem needed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, which he instantly engaged in performing. Rem awoke and jumped up. She had already beaten Ginta to a bloody pulp before she realized she was standing naked before a group of men. She blushed in humiliation and I swiftly tossed her clothes down to her.

"Consider what you have just suffered the full three-prong revenge assault," I smirked.

"You clever little bitch," Rem said half-angrily, half-amusedly as she pulled on her clothes.

I hopped down and a sharp twang of pain echoed through my body. I recognized the pain all too well.

"What's wrong, Alicia?" Ginta blinked at me as I whimpered softly, jaw and fists clenched tight in pain.

Rem stood there, looking at me seriously for the first time in a good long while. "It's a contraction. The cubs are coming early. Someone go get Koga."

* * *

A/N: I thought it was time I did a funny chapter with a serious and dramatic cliffhanger ending. What do you think? 


	16. The Birth

Life with Koga

Chapter 16

"Six beautiful pups," Rem assured, wiping Alicia's sweat from her forehead once the chaos had ended. "Six beautiful healthy pups."

"You... aren't still mad about earlier... are you?" I asked weakly.

"No I'm not," Rem shook her head. "Come on. We've been at each other's throats since we were young. Do you really think upping the ante that little bit would get me so upset?"

"No," I laughed slightly. "I suppose not. Hey, how long was I out for?"

"Not long," Rem shook her head. "Ginta still hasn't returned with Koga yet. Hakkaku and a few of the other men took the pups back to the den. They insisted that you'd been through enough for one day and that one of the other women would be able to take care of your pups."

"Hey," Koga came rushing up in a whirlwind of panic, stopping just in time to fall on his knees by my side. "I was out hunting. I came as soon as Ginta tracked me down. Are you alright? Where are the kids?"

"All six of them are on their way back to the den with Hakkaku and the others where they'll find another woman to take care of them for now," Rem explained coolly. "And she's fine so chill out already."

"She's right, Koga," I nodded in agreement. "Calm down. Everything's fine."

"Good," Koga breathed a sigh of relief. "Do the kids have names yet?"

"Nope," I smiled.

"She said she wanted to wait for you," Rem interjected.

"I thought it would upset you if I named them without you."

"Well thanks for waiting," Koga flashed a quick grin before looking over at Rem. "Think it'd be okay for me to move her yet? I'd feel much better if we got her back to the den."

"So would I," Rem agreed. "I'm not sure it's okay but we'll never know unless we try, right?"

Koga gently scooped me up and I winced in pain. "Does it hurt too much?"

"No. It was just the initial shock of motion. I'll be fine now," I assured.

He carried me down the hill and back to the den where he laid me down to rest and placed himself beside me.

"How many years has it been, Koga? How many years have I been here?"

"More years than I can count," Koga answered. "Alicia, have I made you happy?"

"Not always," I admitted, laughing, "but it is for the most part true that you have made me happy. These have been the best years of my life, after all, and I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to count this many years as the best years of my life."

"Do you ever miss your own time, Alicia? The people you knew there, the places you went there, the things you did there?"

"Sometimes... but if I went back I'd miss this place even more. After all, this is where I was destined to be."

"I love you," he said suddenly. "Sometimes I think I don't tell you that enough."

"I love you too, Koga-kun."


End file.
